Woman arrested after three dead babies found in filthy Massachusetts home

[September 12, 2014]  By Eric M. Johnson
 
 (Reuters) - Police have arrested a woman after the bodies of three infants were found amid the squalor and vermin of a condemned southern Massachusetts home from which state officials previously rescued four children, officials and media said on Thursday.

But the cause of death and the gender of the infants found at the home in Blackstone, about 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Boston, was unknown, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early told reporters.

"The house is in squalor," Early said. "The house is filled with vermin. We have flies, we have bugs, we have used diapers in some areas as much as a foot-and-a-half, two feet high." That depth is equivalent to about half a metre.

Police arrested 31-year-old Erika Murray on charges she misled a police investigation into the incident at the house, Worcester County District Attorney spokesman Tim Connolly said later on Thursday.

He would not elaborate on her connection to the crime but said she would be arraigned on charges including intimidation of a witness on Friday morning in Uxbridge District Court.

Investigators searching the home have to wear hazmat suits and undergo a decontamination process when they leave, Early said.

The Blackstone Police Department is working with Early's office to investigate the disturbing findings, department spokesman John Guilfoil said.

Detectives were investigating a case of reckless endangerment of children when they made the discovery, Early said in an e-mailed statement.

Authorities removed four children - ranging in age from six months to 13 years - from the house about two weeks ago, broadcaster CBS News reported.

(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson; Editing by Sandra Maler and Clarence Fernandez)

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